


THERE'S SOMETHING BETWEEN US. The Miraculous Story That Happened Around Christmas

by Glober



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Christmas Fluff, Embarrassment, F/M, Fluff and Hurt/Comfort, Friendship/Love, Happy Ending, Identity Reveal, ML Secret Santa, ML Secret Santa 2018, Miraculous Ladybug Love Square, Walking In On Someone, excuse me waiter there´s some angst on my fluff
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-12-25
Updated: 2018-12-31
Packaged: 2019-09-26 17:02:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 6,984
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17145602
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Glober/pseuds/Glober
Summary: Before, when Ladybug and Chat Noir got to meet mainly for Akuma fights and had to leave in a rush before their miraculous could give up, it was difficult to take the time to catch-up.  Now, almost a year since the threat had been controlled, it was nearly impossible.  There were few occasions left for heroes to be required together in costume and there were no occasions when they got to do it without.  The blonde was determined to change that fact, so he decided to go all or nothing the next time they were meant to meet as partners.





	1. CHAPTER 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [chelseaapproved](https://archiveofourown.org/gifts?recipient=chelseaapproved).



> A gift for @chelseaapproved in the 2k18 Secret Santa Exchange @mlsecretsanta. Today I posted the first chapters but this story will continue. 
> 
> Happy Holidays, I hope you enjoy

Adrien stared at the mirror, going through every little detail at least six times before considering that his look was acceptable.

“Wow kid, I got to admit, I thought you would look ridiculous” Plagg comment lazily flying around the bedroom.

“You know what? me too! But man, Don’t I look good!” the teen interrupted smugly, admiring his reflection with a big sided grin as a way to complete the assembly.

“What can I say, black’s your color. Why else do you think Fu chose you for me?”

Plagg was throwing jokes and no making fun of him as usual, it was obviously an attempt to help him relax. Adrien was going to make a very big, very risky move today and he was grateful for the distraction, especially after all they’ve been through in the past months.

Behind the hard image the kwuami liked to project, he knew that a soft kitty was hidden. One that pretended to care only about cheese, but in reality was quite fond of his holder. 

And when Hawkmoth -his own father- surrendered and returned the moth and peacock miraculouses to the guardian Adrien was left mirthless, lonely and confused. It was partially thanks to his friends that he was able to continue living but it was mostly because of the deity of destruction that he eventually made peace with his situation and face it in the healthiest way possible, by encouraging therapy.

Maybe the little back cat did not always have the best way to show it, but the love was there and it was well reciprocated. Plagg cared for his youngest Chat Noir deeper than the others before him and that made the ‘kid’ wonder about his predecessors but never intruding, since it was made clear that it was a sensitive topic.

“You know, I kind of always assumed it was because of your preference for expensive food and my capacity to afford it” Adrien said shaking his head. He was felling calmer already but still decided to re-arranged his hair for the fifth or tenth time just in case.

“Well, there’s also that” and with a smirk Plagg took a huge portion of Camembert, bigger than his head, just to emphasize.

Laughing hard and deciding that he was pleased with the outfit, the excited teen ran his fingers through his hair one last time and called for his transformation. He jumped to the Parisian cold remembering to leave his hotel window slightly open for his return, hopefully very late that night.

*

Before, when Ladybug and Chat Noir got to meet mainly for Akuma fights and had to leave in a rush before their miraculous could give up, it was difficult to take the time to catch-up. Now, almost a year since the threat had been controlled, it was nearly impossible. There were few occasions left for heroes to be required together in costume and there were no occasions when they got to do it without. The blonde was determined to change that fact, so he decided to go all or nothing the next time they were meant to meet as partners.

They were schedule to go to a briefing summoned by Mayor Bourgeois who still liked to take precautions since the identity of Hawkmoth was never released to the public, or to anyone.

It was mainly Ladybug’s idea but they both agreed on a cover story involving a damaged miraculous and a confused and very anonymous holder; they were careful not to mention the Kwamis and since no-one knew how to take care of magic jewelry, the police agreed to leave that responsibility to the pair as long as they reported periodically and were willing to notify of any changes.

Chat Noir actually wanted the man behind the attacks to be punished for terrorizing Paris, but Ladybug convinced him otherwise. She believed that there was still hope for redemption especially because the designer had confessed voluntarily and freed Nooroo and Duusu without a fight. It was not fair or necessary to leave the Agreste heir without his only family, when the whole purpose of the man sending out Akumas was to bring his mother back. 

On the other hand, Gabriel Agreste was truly remorseful and vow to do everything in his power to make amends. So far? He honored his word by giving back to the city as much as he could anonymously and making every effort in rebuilding his relationship with his son.

*

The meeting ended quickly and the lack of lucky charms or Cataclysms meant that the Miraculous holders had no reason to run away afterwards.

“My Lady, can I interest you in an early night dinner?” Chat Noir was partially teasing but mostly serious.

“Dinner? As in a date Chat Noir?” she crossed her arms showing doubt, yet not rejection. He was going to count it as a win.

“Well, it can be a date” he wiggled his eyebrows “or it can be a friendly outing with a friendly cat. It’s your call really” 

“Friendly outing it is!” she beamed, holding her hands together to her chest “What did you have in mind?”

“Well, we can’t exactly go into a restaurant discreetly so… I was thinking I could get us some crepes from the food stall by the Trocadero’s Christmas Village and then we could go ice skating there, once the ring it’s empty”

“Wow, that actually sounds perfect! I absolutely adore the decorations in there. I can’t explain to you just how much joy I get from everything that revolves around Christmas, except for the intensive cold of course” She frown at the last part.

She loved this season, no surprise there. Paris at this time of year was as sophisticated as the city itself. Every turn of every corner had its own special appeal from sparkling ice skating rinks to the many charming markets that line the streets and squares. It wasn’t called the City of Light for nothing, and especially so at Christmas. 

“Can I suggest that we take a walk instead of ice skating, Kitty? I want to check out the illuminations along the Champs-Elysées at La Magie de Nöel as well” She had the kitty eyes mastered, for a bug.

“No problem my lady. I can hold on skating till I go with friends this weekend” he shrugged giving her a tender smile.

“Where and When are you guys going, Chat? I’m also planning an outing this weekend with some of my friends”

“Either Trocadero or the ice rink in front of Hotel Deville, on Sunday for sure” It was up to the girls to choose.

“Us too! Maybe we’ll pass by and won’t recognize each other anyway”

“Y- yeah My Lady, may-maybe”

They both smiled. Her grin playful and his hesitant, and if Ladybug noticed Chat stutter she was kind enough not to comment.

*

After a few hours together, they found themselves sitting close to each other admiring the view of the city from above with a cup of vin chaud in hand to keep warm. The streets were filled with lights and decorations and bursting with people doing their “petites emplettes”, surely making final preparations for dinner the next day.

With their years of partnership, the conversation floated easily between them and even the prolonged silence was never uncomfortable, but in that particular moment and on that random rooftop, Chat Noir felt like he needed to break said silence in order to get out what he needed Ladybug to know before changing his mind.

“The food was really good. The company better, as per usual” He said winking with a force smirk and trying to appear calm.

“Thanks again Minou” she signed pleased as she took a sip of her cup and completely relaxing against his side. “I’m having a blast tonight”

He smiled stealing a glance in her direction. There was something about mixed traditions in her family that she tried to ambiguously explain years ago but he didn’t quite understand. Whatever that was, it made her mood more cheerful around this time of year and even in her late seventeen, Ladybug had the Christmas spirit of a seven years old. She appeared calm and extra happy so he decided there was no better time than the present to take the risk of changing their relationship for good.

“Adrien. My… my name is Adrien” he said taking a big breath, then, Chat Noir was replaced by Adrien as he released the transformation.

“Whaaat! Ohh ahhhhhh! Naa ad…rienn..nn. what!?” She turned abruptly. The sounds coming from her mouth were impossible to caption since he did not understand a thing and she was mouthing out of breath. Her expression was no easily read either. Open mouth, bulging eyes and tears quickly forming. 

Her entire body shaking. 

Ladybug observed his civilian face until apparently couldn’t hold it anymore because after what felt like hours, she placed her cup in the floor, stood up and ran away.

Chat -Adrien- was not prepared for that.

He was convinced that he had taken care of every little detail, yet he never once considered this outcome. He stole a pair of matte leader pants from the storage room, found the perfect form fitting black shirt, and put on just the right amount of gel to fix his hair the correct way. He didn’t go with the jacket he found with the perfect zippers, because it seemed a little too much.

He figured that if he could look as similar as Chat Noir as possible, the shock would be less. Ladybug’s reaction wasn’t of simple shock, she actually seemed miserable.

With tears of his own and after a hearted speech from Plagg, Adrien became Chat Noir again and took off.


	2. CHAPTER 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Face flushing, utterly embarrassed and clinging to just 30 inches of fabric for dear life, Adrien Agreste let out a less than masculine shirk.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The first chapter was a little angsty but this is fluffier, I promise

Face flushing, utterly embarrassed and clinging to just 30 inches of fabric for dear life, Adrien Agreste let out a less than masculine shirk. 

“La-la-ladybug!?”

His high pitched yell was the only sound disrupting the otherwise quiet night. 

She opened her mouth, closed it and then opened it again continuing the motion several times as she froze in shock but took the time to look him up and down before collecting herself. Finally turning around and covering her reddening face in her hands, all she could do was join him in his screech with her eyes tightly shut.

“Sorry, sorry, sorry…. Ohh my goodness Adrien, I’m so so so sorry… Ohh God, that did not just happen… I saw nothing, NOTHING! I swear!!!” 

Why was this his life?

Given that this was his private suite, he was tempted to leave the bathroom totally nude. It was almost midnight and the heater was providing the most enjoyable atmosphere to do so; at the very last second right after opening the door and without looking into the bedroom, he took a towel to put around his waist with the only purpose to get Plagg to shut up.

He wasn’t expecting anyone anyway, let alone his superhero partner to be showing up unannounced; but since the Kwami was getting in his nerves, loudly complaining about his new found liking for nudity he made the good –and very last second- call of covering himself up. 

It wasn’t a kink or anything like that but just a silly thing that made him feel independent after so many years of living a controlled life in the Agreste’s household; similar to having sweets for dinner, over sleeping on the weekends or not always matching his socks.

And to think he felt exposed to his Lady when he dropped his transformation just hours ago, talk about averting catastrophic events, final destination style. There was no Camembert big enough to show his gratitude to his annoying companion. 

Maybe if he invested in a cheese factory, maybe.

After the initial shock, he grabbed the first pair of pajamas pants and weathered t-shirt available and put them on at light speed. Placing himself in front of Ladybug, he touched her shoulder to let her know that it was ok to look at him.

They found themselves staring into each other’s eyes with matching red faces before he gestured her to sit with him on the couch. 

“You know?” She finally broke the first uncomfortable silence since the beginning of their partnership. 

“I don’t, but go ahead” he shrugged, still not meeting her gaze.

“Must you joke? At a time like this?” she smiled and finally began to relax, looking at him as her face tuned down to a pretty pink shade.

"Well, now that you´ve learned who I am, can you really blame me?” his smile contradicting the sadness in his voice.

“No, I suppose I can’t” she smiled fondly “actually, I makes a lot of sense” her tone was soft as she leaned over to place her head in his shoulder and her hand into his. “I came here to apologize, Adrien. It was petty of me to leave without even telling you how I felt with the turn of events and you deserve so much more than that” She took a deep breath and let it out before continuing “I signed up for Christmas fun with my partner not to get my circuits fried.” 

“Sorry My Lady” he kept his gaze also blushing slightly.

“You have nothing to be sorry for” she squeezed his hand “maybe just for surprising me and stealing my thunder” 

“What do you mean ´your thunder´?” 

She scratched her head with her free hand, annoyed at how inaccurate she sounded “What I´m trying to say is that I was thinking, I AM thinking, about telling you who’s behind my mask, you just beat me to it, I guess" She shrugged. 

“Really? Wow!” Adrien shifted making her move her head so they were facing each other.

“Not right now tough, soon. I’m wasn’t quite ready yet and I won´t let your reveal make me fell pressure. Besides…” she was cautious but he took her other hand, now holding both to encouraged her to continue.

“Now that I know who you are, I’m more convince that I need to wait”

“Why?!” He was louder than necessary, hurt and concern evident in the way he let go of her hands.

“Please don’t get the wrong idea. I love that you told me, I do” She hurried to reassure him and interlaced their fingers again “Adrien you had to deal with the identity of Hawkmoth all by yourself? I can’t even begin to imagine what you must have felt, discovering that your own father… and his goal being… “she stopped for a second to breath and then forced herself to continue “I wasn’t there for you and I´m supposed to be your best friend. when you revealed your identity, all I could see was a friend that I let down”

Tears were covering her eyes and his were starting to match. Little sobs slipping away unauthorized from her.

“Don’t worry Bug. My friends have me covered, also my annoying Kwami” he tried to lighten the mood “plus, my father and I are seeking professional help. We are going to therapy, together and apart and I’m actually moving back with him for the holidays” He placed their hands on his chest to try to convince her that it was all going better, she didn’t need to worry about him.

“Why are you consoling me when I’m here to comfort you? I wasn’t there for you as Ladybug and I wasn’t there as myself either, and there´s no one else to blame but myself. Hawkmoth was out of business; what real reason did I have to keep my identity from you? I can only assume what you felt after my poor reaction tonight and I´m so sorry for that. You must think I´m a horrible person, I felt such guilt that I couldn´t face you. I needed to think of a way to make it up to you, I still have to figured it out… But I promise that I will” She was crying so hard that it was breaking his heart.

“You don’t need to My Lady” His tone still calm, reassuring.

“I do, Chat, I do. Because I was half there for my partner Chat, who was as surprised as me but unaffected on a personal way and I was… I mean, I’m sure your friends were there for you as Adrien but I Know you could begin to explain to them the magnitude of your situation. What did you even tell them? That you were going through some difficulties with your father?” Breathing deeper was helping her get out of her chest what she wanted Adrien to understand. She knew that she was breaking some sort of record with this amount of rambling, but she wanted it all out.

“They think our problem is an abusive relationship and in a way that’s the truth” 

Simple, no more explanations were needed and his friends where all over him. Chloe even got him a suite on his father’s hotel free of charge and during the first toughest months she, Nino, Alya and even Marinette took turns to stay with him over night. 

“I was never alone. I always was at least with one of my friends and always with my Kwami. Remember Plagg? Little black kitty? The power to knock down the Eiffel tower? He’s being an amazing companion as exasperating as he can be”

“I warn you kid, the next time you are about to show your ´ding-dong´ to your Lady, there will be no annoying or exasperating kwami to stop you. You just keep insulting me and you´ll see” Plagg interrupted mockingly, making the two teen blush intently. They released their hands as if on fire and adverted each other’s gaze.

“Plagggggg!!!!” Adrien hiss at his friend, who just went into the bathroom with a piece of cheese. 

Mortified, Adrien inhaled and exhaled sharply before joining their hands once again. Ladybug took it as a sign to continue, still very red.

"Well, now you have me as well, knowing all of you” She smiled and this time it felt genuine even with her blush and Adrien felt his heart skip a beat. 

How wrong would it seem to kiss her now, since the conversation had been so dense? Probably not the best idea, so he stopped himself before leaning closer.

“So tell me, Adrien Chat Noir Agreste, what are this big plans for the holidays you mentioned?” It was good to see her calm, it helped him relax as well.

“Well, our therapist feels like we are ready to try to live together again and I have to admit that I agree. For as much as I was disappointed and angry, I must confess that I never stopped loving my father. He came clean to me as Adrien, you Know? Before he gave back the miraculouses” he smiled at her “that help a lot”

“Seriously?” If he could see her eyebrows they surely be up in her hairline. 

“Yes, the same day. He came to my room right before leaving for the massage house. One hour later, the master was summoning us and the rest as they say, its history” It felt so good to tell her all of this, to finally have her being a part of his life as Adrien. That’s what he had set out to get when he decided to reveal. 

He still loved her, very much, but he was in peace with the fact that his feelings were unrequired. Being distracted with the hole ¨Hawkmoth turn out to be daddy¨ issue was at least helpful for this. 

*

Ladybug and Adrien felt lighter after the long talk, getting closer on the couch and going from the heavy topics to brighten the mood with jokes till they felt sleep entangle in each other.

The next morning, Marinette was awakening first thanks to a remorseful Tikky. The Kwami was sorry for not being able to hold the transformation longer but was clever enough to borrow a cookie and tap her holder´s face to get her attention before Adrien could caught her unmask and on her fluffy pajamas. 

The pink light wake him but he didn’t get the chance to steal a snick peak of the girl beneath the suit.

“Good Morning beautiful” Ohh good his raspy morning voice, of course! He hurried to clear his throat.

“Morning handsome” Hey, she teased back! “I´m going to go before my parents kill me for not being in my bedroom”

“Big plans for today My Lady?”

“Not really, I´m finishing the last touches of some presents in the morning and a movie marathon with my dad for the afternoon”

“What about le réveillon de Noël?”

“Ohh well… I´m only half French and we actually celebrate tomorrow. I may be joining a friend with his family though”

“Half French, huh? What about the other half?”

“Another story for another day” She teased “What about you, big moving day right?”

“Yes, I´d say I could use the help but I have the muscle part cover” He even flexed, morning Adrien was not a very articulate Adrien.

“By your bodyguard, I assume” she chuckled, still teasing him.

“Thanks” He frowned 

“But seriously, do you need anything or?

“Don’t worry, I have a friend who´s family also celebrates tomorrow. I was planning on asking her to accompany my father and me to the Midnight mass after the standard French dinner: Seafood and oysters as starters with bread and butter, followed by caviar, foie gras and then lots and lots of traditional Bûche de Noël”

“Looks like your friend is in for a treat, how come she doesn´t celebrate on the 24th?”

“Well, she´s half Chinese, and they celebrate on the 25th this year” He said stretching, he did not sleep well in that couch.

“Hey, what do you know! I´m also half Asian. Ok-got-to-go-now-bye” 

“What!” Adrien was surprised with that little fact about Ladybug. Not giving him time to process, she simply half hug him and hurried out the window.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> More to come... 
> 
> If you have suggestions feel free to comment. Also go visit my Tumblr GLOBERJK. I have some nice Miraculous things in there


	3. CHAPTER 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> He did not see this coming. It had to be some kind of Karmic reward for surviving Ladybug walking in on him the night before

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I promised a chapter before the end of the year and here it is!

“Ahhhhhhh!!!!! What the hell Adrien!? It’s this supposed to be payback or what? Are you pulling some sort of revenge here?” he did not see this coming. It had to be some kind of Karmic reward for surviving Ladybug walking in on him the night before. She did ogle him shamelessly so of course the universe gave him the chance to find pretty Marinette out of clothes before her shower. Maybe this was more like karmic punishment. 

Thank the havens for their respective towels or the state of affairs could have gotten much more worst. 

“What are you talking about Marinette, this was an accident” he closed his eyes but didn’t have the courtesy to move or even turn his back.

“Just Turn Around!” she did not sound please to see him. Well he couldn’t exactly blame her so he obeyed before worsening the problem.

“What are you doing with the door open if you’re not dress anyway” he knew he shouldn’t chuckle, but he couldn’t help it. He wasn´t making fun of her, never, but the absurdity of it all. Yesterday his first love spotted him half naked, today he did the same to the girl who´s being confusing him the past months? His poor hormonal heart could barely take it. 

“I’m home alone doofus, and I wasn’t expecting you so early” he sensed her struggled to get some clothes on and from his position he could see some denim shorts lying on the floor and Marinette´s leg as he kept trying to pull them close with her tights covered toes, even leaning into his back to prevent her from falling. 

“In my defense, I left you a gazillion texts and I tried to call you twice on my way over, I needed to talk to you”

“Ok I am decent now. You can relax, pervert” He turn around opening his eyes to find his friend clad in the shorts and black tights he saw before and her upper body covered with a baggy red sweater that matched her face perfectly. 

“Come on, you know me better than that. I respect you too much” still smiling

“What´s with the look, and the smile then?” She questioned pointing her index to his nose. 

“Respect in not blind” he shrugged “have you noticed how gorgeous you´ve gotten? I´m sorry but my face seems to be reacting on its own”

“Cut it out! I´m mortified” her voice was muffle by her hands covering her blushed face.

“Ok, I truly am sorry. Believe me, I get how embarrassing this” he gestured between them “can be. So again, it was an accident and I’m sorry for not coming up unannounced. And just to be clear, I didn’t see anything. Anything too private at least” He shrug as Marinette hit him on the bicep nodding shyly.

“Now, what was all that about revenge and pay back, anyway?”

“Ohh that I.. I.. was bewildered, I don’t even know half the things I yelled” She tried to cover her discomfort with a force laugh so he decided not to push. 

“What did you want to talk about that couldn’t wait till later” She asked him sitting on one of her desk chairs and pointing him to the other.

“Umm well” he stared rubbing the back of his neck before sitting down “when I invited you to go to mass with me I neglected to mention that I was supposed to go with my father. I invited you for moral support and wanted to make sure you were ok with that before meeting with him”

“Don’t Worry about it Adrien, I figured as much. You are moving back tonight, right”

“Yes” he had no way of knowing what his life would come to be once he was back at his fathers, the only thing he knew for sure was that they were both willing to try and that Gabriel was earning his son´s trust one step at a time. He would be eternally grateful to his Kwami and his lady for making him see past the elder Agreste´s mistakes.

“I´m glad. A lot happened between you two this past year. I´m just happy to see you finally coming out of it stronger and of course you can count on me for moral support or for whatever else you may need. You, you mean a lot to me” she smiled and his heart fell fussy. 

That felling right there was why he couldn’t afford to mix Marinette in his relationship with Ladybug, why he couldn’t accept the help from her partner today if he already had plans to meet with his classmate. Marinette made him so confused. She was caring, funny, gorgeous and more; the only two things holding him from perusing her romantically was that she was not interested in him that way and that he still had feelings for Ladybug. Who knew how long would it take for him to get over the heroine? Considering the events of the previous night he knew he was far along so he preferred to date girls he didn’t have such strong feelings for, since hurting Marinette was not a risk he deem worth taking.

“Can you please wait for me down stares? I can exactly accompany the Agreste men wearing what would look like pajamas” She gestured to her clothes but his eyes wondered everywhere else, the sudden memory of the stage of undress he found her earlier made his ears burn. 

“It wouldn’t be the first time” That little comeback earned him a cushion right to the nose. 

*  
It didn´t take to long for Marinette to be ready. Once the trap door opened Adrien stud up on the base of the stares to wait for his friend to come down, at the sight of her the model had to put his hand on the handle to prevent him from losing his balance. She looked stunning

“Wow princess, you look amazing!” He couldn´t help but compliment her choice of clothes, simple but elegant and very flattering to her form. She was wearing a simple black lace dress that cover her frame perfectly and cut lose around the waist. When she turned around to close her bedroom door he did fall a little. The backless dress was too much for him apparently. She ran down the steps to aid him but he got up by himself absolutely embarrassed.

“are you ok?” she asked him genuinely concerned. 

“Yeah, yes… I just slip on something”

“Ohhh sorry, I was supposed to clean the floor since my parents left for their Christmas date” he sensed her distress and felt the guilt of the lie since he didn´t actually slip on something on the floor.

“Don’t worry, I´m totally fine” he forced a laugh offering his hand so they could go “Shall we?”. She covered herself with a warm coat and put on a scarf that complemented the attire perfectly.

“You know; I think is the first time ever that you call me ´Princess´” she said with a side smile

“Of course not, I used to call you that all the time” He said carelessly 

“Chat Noir did, Adrien? Not so much” and at that he understood the real slip of the night. He revealed himself to Ladybug, not Marinette… How did the two of them got mixed in his dumb mind? 

“ahh… hmmm… ahhhh” of screw it “Ok, would you believe if I said that I´m the real Chat Noir” 

“I would totally believe you” She didn’t seem surprised nor impress

“You knew already” He said in a quiet voice.

“I knew already, I´m sorry” she seem to notice his discomfort

“Why didn´t you say anything? Since when do you know?” He asked confused

“I didn’t mention it because it was not my place to say anything, I was waiting for you to be comfortable enough with me to want to tell me yourself. And it´s not being long” She said simply with a hearted smile and touching his arm

“What gave me away?”

“That’s not important”

He nodded and graved the hand she had on him to give a kiss on in some way to confirm that he was indeed Chat Noir. She smiled fondly and opened the door of her apartment so they could go

“Come on Kitty, let’s not keep your père waiting”

“Your right, after you”

*

The dinner at the Agreste mansion was tense at first but Marinette was the perfect companion so the two males began to relax having her as a common topic. First Gabriel complimented her dress and Adrien told his father how she had made it herself and from there the mood shitted and everyone began to relax. They talked about deserts, shared jokes and got Marinette to offer a sample of the baked goods she was good at making. The conversations might seem trivial, but that was exactly what they needed in other to survive this emotional night and get comfortable with the fact that they were moving together after so long. 

The midnight service at Notre-Dame was beautiful as to be expected and after that Gabriel suggested Adrien to accompany Marinette on the ride home. “Thank you for your lovely company Madmoselle Dupain-cheng, my driver will see that you get home safe and my son will accompany you, of course” She said her goodbyes to the elder Agreste and took a sit on the back of the silver car.

The ride to the bakery was silent and short since there was not much distance to cove, if it weren’t for Gabriel´s suggestion the teens would have chosen to walk there to admire the lights some more.

“I had a nice time tonight” She said at her front door

“Us too, thanks to you” he answered taking her hand to give it another one of his signature kisses “sweet dreams Princess” he said with a smirk.

She smiled and a second later open her eyes suddenly running up stairs “Adrien wait, I almost forgot to give you a present” she yelled and quickly returned with a perfectly wrapped green box with black and gold ribbon. 

He opend the box before she could protest and stared inside with a trouble expression.

“Apples?”

She giggled “yes, apples. Ping in the word 'apple’ (苹果 píngguǒ) sounds like the word 'peace’ in Mandarin, which is used for Christmas Eve ('Peaceful Evening’), so people give and eat apples, particularly on Christmas. I tough you may need a little peace for this holiday. Don’t worry, I still have a real gift for you tomorrow. Im sorry this was stupid, I wanted to share some tradition with you. I don’t…” She stared rambling and all he could do was smile. He really cared about her friendship and this made obvious that she cared about him as well. No, there was no way he could date her and risk ruining everything. His lady didn’t love him and his Marinette didn’t either. Maybe the present of peace was exactly what he needed, peace of mind.

“I love this, thank you. Hey, are your parents back yet?”

“I don’t think so, no. Why?” She asked curious.

“I also want to give you one present today, but I have to ditch the driver first. Can I come thru your roof?”

“Ohh… Well, it´s being a while since Chat visited so, it would be nice to see him”

“Ok, wait up then” He gestured good bye, got in the car and got home. A few minutes later he was coming back and knocking on the trapdoor above her bed.

“Come in” She said from the inside so he complied. They sat on the bed a few minutes looking at each other’s eyes before she pursed her lips and broke the silence

“Can I ask you something?”

“of course Marinette, you can ask anything”

“Why Kagami?”

“What?!” What kind of question was that!?

“Chat Noir have always claimed to be in love with Ladybug”

“Hmmhmm” Ohhh boy, He didn’t like where this was going.

“But as Adrien, you’ve dated Kagami. Why her?” 

“Uhh, she is a great girl. I like spending time with her. I tried something more but it didn’t work out. Ladybug had rejected Chat so I tried to give Adrien a different chance”

“No..umm… I understand that. What I’m trying to ask… Umm“ she lowered her bottom lip slightly so her teeth were barely showing “Why not me?”  
“Ohh” He opened his eyes in shock, never in a million years would he expected this questions from her.  
“You don’t have to answer… I’m sorry… It’s not of my business who you feel attracted to” she hurried moving her hands in front of her “or who you don’t” 

She whispered the last past in a sad tone that anyone without super hearing would not be able to catch. But he had super hearing.

“Marinette…. It’s not… It’s not that at all… I…umm” he let out a sight “she was just there, ok?”

“what do you mean” Her eyes never looked shinier and her slightly parted lips was a telltale sign, no! he was reading this all wrong, wasn´t him?  
“Ok I’m not proud of this… It was a selfish thing to do and I’ve apologize to her already”

“I still don’t understand”

“she was just there. Right after My Lady rejected another one of my flowers. We had fencing together and she came to me in the locker room because she noticed that I was upset”

“And that’s all it took for you to notice her. I get it. You said it yourself, she’s very pretty” she was looking for the answer to the mysteries of the universe in her hands, not daring to look him in the eyes. Voice so small that it made his heart ache.

“as I said, not my finest moment. Yes, she was a pretty girl caring for me in a moment I was feeling low. I think I would have asked Chloe at that point if she behaved half the way Kagami did as she tried to console me”

“Why didn’t it worked out between you two?”

“For me? I was still to hung up with my love for Ladybug and to be fully honest, I don’t think those feelings will completely leave me” for some weird reason she looked up blushing. He felt his face warming as well at the sight of her.

“and..” she cleared her throat “and for Kagami?” At the question and the sparkle of her eyes, he could help but fully blush.

“Well, she knew I was set on a ‘target’ and she proposed that I changed it, that was what dating her was about. Then, she admitted that it was too obvious that I was still fixed and she felt that she couldn’t and didn’t want to compete” He said moving his gaze from her face to the floor.

“How was it obvious? Did she know who you where?” He felt the surprise and hidden anger on her tone.

“No, NO! OFF COURSE NOT!!!! Only you and Ladybug know that Adrien and Chat Noir are one and the same”

“then how?”

“Ohhh… Haaahaaa… Funny story…” She raised her eyebrow “she thought and still thinks that you are my initial target” he whispered rapidly as to prevent her from hearing. Which didn’t work.

“What?! Why would she even think that? You friend zone me enough as it is, and and…” She forced a laugh and stopped abruptly as she realized what her words implied, what this whole conversation did.

For a few moments they stared at each other in complete silence, faces getting impossibly redder. He released his transformation and opened his mouth to break the silence, she held up her hands to stop him and took a big breath, ready to be the first to talk.

“Adrien, I like… No…I love you. And I know you don’t or ever will feel the same but I’m done keeping this secret from you. You know me well enough to know that this is by no means influenced by your money, or your fame or your name but I’ve been in love with you since we met. Actually no… Your first impression wasn’t stellar, but after your apology on the rain, I could not get you of my head”

He looked her in the eyes astonished. Opening and closing his mouth a couple of times before being able to respond. He reached for her hands and she let him and closing the distance between them “you’re serious” it was half a question and half a statement and all she did was to nod.

“Marinette. In the spirit of honesty…” He stared but she interrupted him again

“Adrien, I’m not done. I think you have a chance with Ladybug, but she now knows and loves all of you…. I mean uhhhh she probably does” she hurried to correct herself, but it didn’t matter because she was so wrong. Ladybug did love him, but she wasn’t in love with him. Adrien or Chat, all she saw in him was her best friend and loyal partner.

“let me say some things as well Marinette, please” He showed the desire to tell her about his feelings in his eyes and his tone so she agreed.

“I meet you a day late. If I haven’t met Ladybug first I’m sure that I would have fell for you in a heartbeat. You are amazing, caring, funny, talented, beautiful and so much more. I’ll admit, as badly as it may sound, that you where eclipse by a girl who shares some of those qualities but whom I happened to meet a day before you” He kept his face up, eyes never leaving hers and confused about her expression “Marinette, I have feelings for you and I think I always did. Even Kagami noticed how I always paid special attention to you. Even before all this problem with my father, you and I bonded in a special kind of way. I just didn’t realize this feeling because I was distracted. And I’m sorry I can’t offer you a whole heart because you deserve the whole world. When I dated Kagami, you were not a choice because I didn’t understand what you represented to me and also I had no way to know you were interested so she was the safest bet” Why did she seemed to be holding back a laugh? This was hard for him “Now? I´m to scare to ask you out because there’s too much at risk and I don’t know if I can leave with myself if I hurt you, which is a big possibility since Ladybug is still an important part of my life. My heart is divided and every time I think about it my head hurts” She was definitely laughing now. Why would she laugh at him? He was getting upset but she calmed him by touching his chest gently right above his heart. 

“What I was going to say before you interrupted was that since Ladybug knows and LOVES all sides of you, it was only fair that you knew all of her two. Also I was going to state how terrified I was to disappoint you, since her counterpart was someone for whom you’ve never had romantic feelings, or so I thought” she continued moving her hand to his cheek “also, I was going to say that I was sorry for tricking you, but I was too afraid of losing both Chat and Adrien, you”

“What?” He murmured still not getting her point

“spots on”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had a lot of fun picturing this chapter. More soon to come... 
> 
> If you have suggestions feel free to comment. Also go visit my Tumblr GLOBERJK. I have some nice Miraculous things in there

**Author's Note:**

> As always let me remind you that I don’t own any of the characters, English is not my first language and this is not Betta. 
> 
> Please feel free to visit my Tumblr GLOBERJK and leave comments here and there!


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